The Muggle Task
by shabd
Summary: Written for a challenge. Harry and Draco are paired together for a muggle task. How would the other students react when they complete their task without fighting even once?


**Disclaimer** - None of the characters belong to me. They belong to J.K Rowling, and other various artists. No money is being made, and this fic is written purely for entertainment purposes.

**Author Notes** - Written for a TFC challenge. No ships at all.

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"What?" 

Momentarily forgetting himself, Draco Malfoy gaped at his Transfiguration teacher, completely unprepared for the news that she had just told them.

He was not the only one. All through the room, cries of outrage were heard from the assembled students. The seventh-year Gryffindors and Slytherins were seated in the Great Hall, where their teacher had just informed them that they were supposed to learn about the way muggle households are run.

"I'm sure you've heard perfectly well, Mr. Malfoy. The Ministry has decided that to promote more understanding between muggles and wizards, all pure-bloods are now required to complete one task, which is taken for granted in a muggle household, and they are not allowed to use any magic." Professor McGonagall looked pointedly at everyone. "However, our school has decided that all the students will participate in this activity."

The Great Hall had been slightly modified for that day's activities, but judging by the number of groans and cries coming from all over the room, nobody was really looking forward to it.

However, there was one person who was not too bothered by it all. Harry Potter just sighed and tuned out the entire hall. Considering that he had spent almost his entire life doing chores the muggle way, he didn't think that this assignment would be too difficult for him.

Coming out of his reverie, he noticed that Professor McGonagall was still speaking.

"You will be working in pairs, which will be assigned by me, and each pair will get a different task. To make it more interesting, we have decided that the team that finishes their task the fastest, with an acceptable quality of work done, will receive 50 points each."

"I have divided the Hall according to the number of teams. Each of you will be receiving a parchment with your partner's name on it. Please proceed as instructed," She waved her wand once, and suddenly slips of white parchment started appearing in front of all the students.

Harry grabbed the one that shimmered into existence in front of him, and opened it.

Meanwhile, Ron had already opened his, and was busy moaning about his assigned partner – Blaise Zabini.

Hermione had also opened hers, and was reading out the name in a voice full of resignation – Pansy Parkinson.

"Who's yours, mate?" Ron asked Harry, when Harry just looked at the paper without saying anything.

Harry looked up, his emerald eyes focussing on Ron's face, and then back to the name written on the paper. "Draco Malfoy."

Saying this, he picked up his bag, and walked towards where Draco was seated, ignoring his classmates' strange looks.

"Ready, Scarhead?" Draco sneered.

"Scared, Ferret?" Harry retorted.

Before Draco could formulate a reply, a second parchment appeared before them. Draco quickly thrust his arm forward and caught it. Opening it, his gray eyes scanned the page quickly, and as he reached the bottom, he snorted. After he was done, he handed it to Harry.

The following was written in it :

_Students,_

_Your task is to clean the pile of dirty dishes that will appear in front of you. _

_Afterwards, you will have to dry them and stock them in the basket that appears, in such a way that they do not break._

_Good luck, and have fun,_

_Prof. McGonagall_

Harry folded the paper, and looked up. A kitchen sink appeared in front of them, with a pile of dishes in it, just as the letter had said.

"Let's get started, then," Harry said, rolling up his sleeves.

It was almost like he was back at the Dursleys'. So lost was he in his thoughts, that he didn't notice Draco staring at him. Suddenly, feeling an intense gaze on him, he turned and found himself facing his school rival.

"What?" he asked, slightly defensively.

"I am not going to clean dishes." Draco stated, in such a way that left no place for any argument.

"Fine. You can dry them after I'm done." Harry replied, dismissively. He turned back to the washing, his hands deftly cleaning first one plate, and then another.

As he was washing them, he kept handing the utensils to Draco, instructing him to dry them nicely.

At first, Draco made a big fuss of the whole deal, claiming that his clothes were getting dirty, but realizing that Harry was not listening, he started concentrating on his task, finding that it wasn't as bad as he had thought. Not that he was going to admit that to anybody. After all, he still had a reputation to keep.

Looking around, Harry was suddenly reminded that they were not the only ones there. All the other couples were having problems getting along, and none of them were even close to finishing.

Feeling quite surprised that Draco and he had managed to finish their work while actually being civil to each other, although in reality they had ignored each other all the time, Harry remarked, "Looks like we're the first ones to be done."

Draco just nodded, and with his wand, shot green sparks into the air above them. Immediately Professor McGonagall came towards them, her eyes widening as they swept over all the clean utensils, and the two boys standing next to each other, apparently without any visible injuries.

"Congratulations, students. You have finished the work first, thus earning yourself 50 points each." McGonagall informed in a formal voice.

Overhearing her, the nearby students turned around to see who the lucky pair was. As they saw Draco and Harry, their mouths opened in astonishment, and they couldn't help staring. Within moments, the whole room knew that these two boys, who were the bitterest rivals, had apparently finished their work, without any fighting or screaming.

Harry blushed, aware of the fact that he was the center of attention once again. However, Draco just smiled lazily at everyone, and turned to his teacher.

"Well, now that this so-called "fun activity" of yours is over, may I be excused to go and take a nice long bath to clean myself of all the filth and dirt from here?"

Without waiting for a reply, he promptly turned around and stalked towards the main hall, managing to look graceful despite the fact that his robes were all wet from holding the dishes too near him.

Harry was left alone in the middle of the Great Hall, and silently cursing the fates that had put him in this situation, he followed Draco's lead and asked his teacher for permission to go and change.

She agreed at once, and he too turned around and hurried out of the room.

Still slightly astonished, Professor McGonagall absent-mindedly waved her wand and made their table disappear. She then turned around and seeing all the stunned faces barked, "Well? What are you waiting for?"

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End file.
